Service tray for automobile instrument panels



(5- E. PETERS ET AL SERVICE TRAY FOR AUTOMOBILE INSTRUMENT PANELS Jan. 2, 1951 Filed April 7, 1947 mm M M m v wWm a5 R mg 6 v Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED SERVICE .TRAY AUTQMQBILE INSTRUMENT PeNEPS Application April 7, 1947 Serial no 739 935- 8 Claims. (Cl.;;31l.-;2 1-);

This invention-relates to automobile accessories arldmtlreparticularly to a tray to be supported adjacent-the windshield of an automobile.

A'tray'inWhich-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, road maps or; other articles may be placedllas been found to be quite advantageous-tothe driver or passenger in an automobilel Tothis end there is disclosed herein'a tray whichmay be supported upon the dash board adjacent the windshield. Forillustrativepurposes 'ithas been shown as located in front of the driver on the left side of the windshield; butit-is to be understood that such tray, by reversalmay be. used upon the op.- pes'ite side of the car,. or the right and left hand trays may be consolidated into a-one-piece tray extending across-the whole front ofthe can. Thus both left hand; right hand and continuous trays are contemplated and are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

The object of the present invention is to im prove the constructionas well as the means and mode of assembly of such trays, including the means of attaching said-trays to anautomobile whereby they may not only be economically manufactured, but willbe more efiicient and satisfactoryq'n use, of relatively few parts,- and unlikely to get out of repair or become loose and wobbly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tray which Will-be universal in its adaptability to automobiles of different manufacture.

A further object of the invention is toprovide a tray to-W-hicli diiferenttrims' may be easily apqol-ied,

A-'- further object of the invention-is the provision of a;tray to; which dif ferentattaching :v

means may be secured.

A=further-object of 'tlie'invention is the provision of a tray of the type described, having the advantageous structural features and the inner;- ent meritorious characteristics and-mode of "con struction herein-set iorth.

With-the above primary and-other incidental objeets-in view as will-'more-fuHy appear in the specification the invention intended to be protested -by- Letters Patent consists of the features of construction,.the parts and-combinationsthere of,-- and the -mode oi operation, as hereinafter alescribed oriillustrated in the accompanying draw ings,- or their-equivalents}.

In the accompanyingdrawing, wherein the in.- vention i's-illustrated in its preferredebut not .necessarily the only form of embodiment,

Fig.v 1 is a perspective view. of the. tray. installed in theleft. corner of :anautomobile windshield so as teberin frontlof the driver.

Fig. 2 is-a perspective Viewofthe tray removed from the roar.

Fig.3 isa perspective view, similar to Fig, 2, but viewed from the. opposite side thereof, .an d without the attaching membersbeing secured thereto.

Fig.4 is adetail bottom view showing the method Ofsecuring the. desired attachin membars: to the tray.

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail viewslof diiierent types of attaching members.v

Figs. 7 and 8 are detailxviewsof amo-dified form of tray..

Fig.9 shows a further modification of the pres: ent tray.

Fig. 10 shows a further modification inwhioh a member haslbeeh applied :to. the tray of Figs..2, 3, 019.

Like. partsare indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings,.thereisfshown in Fig.1 a fragmentary. view of .the front of an automob le in. whichv the dashboard or instrument panel 1 supports the tray 2 comprising the subject matter of the present invention. Surrounding the windshield panels3 is the usual molding i which seals the windshield and holds the glass panels 3-in place. It is by meansof themolding 5 that the tray 2 is held in place, aswill be more fully described.

The tray comprises a substantially triangular base portion 5' having an upstanding marginal flange E-6f on two sidesv thereof. The open side of the base 5 a series of relatively spaced parallel slots I in. spaced parallel relation with the margin thereof,- the rslotsbeing' arranged in pairs at longitudinally spacedintervals along the base. The material intermediate the spaced slots I is slightly depressed forming an anchormeni- 8=with which. theattaching members are engaged whenassembledwith the tray.

I-"he attaching members 9 (Fig. 5) have a tongue Iilstruclr therefrom which engages in overlapping. relation with the anchormember 8 when assembled. To assemble the attaching members awith the tray, the endll thereof is pushed inwardly through the slots I relativeto the base 5; the attaching memberbeing. in overlyingrelag tionwith the anchor. member,3. Astheanchor memberB is. engaged by. the fixed end of the tongue It, a small bossief, in the attaching member opposite the fixed end, of the tongue, Ill, enagesthe opposite, side of the anchor.v member 8. The. attaching member is securely, held in its assembled position by the inherent resiliencfiof themetal which interlocks. thewanohor. member 3 8 intermediate the boss l and the fixed end of the tongue ID.

The molding 4 about the windshield is then loosened and the projecting ends E2 of the attaching members 9 are inserted therebeneath and the molding replaced. The tray 2 is thereby held in position by engagement of the attaching members 9 beneath the molding 4 of the windshield.

Some automobiles do not use the molding 4 to seal the windshield, but directly seal the glass 3 into the frame. In such automobiles however, there is provided in the dash I a heat discharge vent adjacent the windshield for the purpose of defrosting the windshield. For this type of construction a modified form of attaching member i3 (Fig, 6) is used, in which the outer end I2 is bent in the same direction as is the tongue Iii. This attaching member is assembled with the tray 2 in exactly the same manner as previously described. In attaching the tray 2 to an automobile of this type, the hook I2 is engaged within the heat discharge vent in the dash, in lieu of engagement beneath the molding 4 as previously described.

It is sometimes desirable to support the front of the tray 2 in reation tothe dash board I. This is particularly true when the modified form of attaching member I3 is used. To this end there is provided near the forward or right angle corner of the tray an angularly disposed supporting strut M (Fig. 10) to the lower end of which a rubber foot I5 is secured. The strut it is so proportioned that the foot [5 will engage the rest upon the dash board i when the tray 2 is placed in position thereon. The strut hi is pivoted upon the under side of the base 5 by means of a rivet or other attaching means which permits some degree of adjustment in fitting the tray to different automobiles.

The present tray is easily adapted to match different car interiors. For example, a plastic strip or other trim member 16 may be secured to the upstanding marginal flange 6 as is shown in Fig. 10. These trim strips may be of varying surface designs and colors, and any such strip may be easily applied to the tray 2.

In lieu of attaching the trim member 16 to the upstanding flange 5, the flange may be molded from plastic or otherwise formed independently of the base as shown in Fig. 8. In this instance the flange member ii is separately fabricated and then secured to a base portion 5 which in this modification consists of merely a sheet of steel (Fig. 7) which has been incised to form the anchor members 8.

A further modification, although still within the scope of the present invention is shown in Fig. 9. In this form of construction the tray is similar to that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, but is of skeleton form, comprising interconnected members 58, is and The upstanding flange Eil may be either the form shown in Fig. 8 or the same as the flange 6 described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3. The series of slots 7 are formed in the rear member 21' just as they are formed in the base 5 of the construction shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 7. A paperboard or other bottom is then placed upon the members i8, i9 and 29 to complete the tray assembly.

In all the modifications shown and described, the same slots 3 are provided 'within which the attaching members 9 and i3 (Figs. 5 and 6) are secured.

The present attaching members 9 comprising the projecting arms which are engageable beneath the molding t or within slots in the instrument panel, not only provide for the detachable engagement of the tray with the automobile, but provide means for adjusting the tray relative. to the instrument panel. Thus the members of Fig. 5 may be inserted beneath the molding to different extent, or the hook IQ of Fig. 6 may be formed at a difierent distance relative to the base 5 when assembled therewith, thereby adjusting the tray relative to the windshield.

If it is desired to custom tailor the present trays for particular automobiles, the attaching members 9 of desired contour may be made integral with the base 5, or in lieu thereof, the attaching members may be permanently united with the base.

While for illustrative purposes, only right or left hand single trays have been shown in the drawing, the tray may be made double, that is, the right and left hand trays consciidated into an integral one-piece tray providing a continuous receptacle across the front of the automobile. In the double construction, the upstanding flange 8 may be eliminated, with the flange 6 extended along the entire rear margin of the base 5. Such double tray is provided with detachable and adjustable means for fitting the tray to the particular automobile in which it is to be used, it being secured to the automobile in the same manner as hereinbefore described.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A tray for an automobile of the type having a Windshield offset relative to the instrument panel affording a supporting shelf thereabove, including a substantially triangular base member to rest upon said shelf upstanding flanges on two sides thereof, a series of longitudinally spaced pairs of incisions in inwardly spaced parallel relation with the third side thereof, a series of depressions intermediate the incisions of each pair, a plurality of attaching members detachably engageable with the tray and with the automobile within the offset intermediate the windshieldand instrument panel, a tongue struck from said attaching members and extending into spaced relation therewith, the construction and arrangement being such that the attaching members may be inserted through the incisions in the base in overlying relation with said depressions, the tongue being engageable in overlapping relation with said depression.

2. A tray for an automobile of the type having a windshield offset relative to the instrument panel affording a supporting shelf thereabove, in-

eluding a base member to rest upon said shelf upstanding flanges on all but one margin thereof, relatively spaced parallel incisions in parallel relation with the open margin thereof, the base being offset intermediate said spaced incisions, a plurality of different attaching members detachably engageable with the base, any one of said plurality being insertable through said incisions in overlapping relation with the offset portion of the base, locking means on said attaching member engageable with the offset portion of the base to retain the attaching member in engagement with said base, said attaching members being detachably engageable with the automobile Within the offset intermediate the windshield and instrument panel, the construction and arrangement being such that different attaching members may be secured to the tray in accordance with the type of automobile to which the tray is to be secured.

3. A tray for an automobile of the type having a windshield molding in offset relation with the instrument panel thereof, including a base member, a marginal flange thereon, a plurality of attaching members detachably engageable beneath the windshield molding and means for detachably engaging said attaching members with the tray including an offset portion in the base of said tray, spaced slots forming the longitudinal margins of the offset portion, the ccnstruction arrangement being such that the attaching members may be inserted Within the slots in overlapping relation with the depression, and locking members on the attaching member engageable with the depression to lock the attaching member in assembled r lation therewith.

4. A tray for an automobile of the type having a windshield oifset relative to the instrument panel affording a supporting shelf thereabove, including a base member to rest upon said shelf, upstanding flanges on all but one margin thereof, a plurality of attaching members carried by said base member and engageable with the supporting shelf, a locking member on said attaching members and an adjustable foot carried by said base and engageable with said shelf to support the tray in predetermined position thereon, the construction and arrangement being such that the attaching members may be detachably engaged with the automobile within the offset to retain the tray in predetermined position upon said shelf.

5. A tray for an automobile of the type having a windshield offset relative to the instrument panel affording a supporting shelf thereabove, including a base member removably engageable with the automobile within the offset and resting upon said shelf, upstanding flanges on all but one side thereof, a plurality of attaching members on said base, said members being removably engageable with the automobile, and an oscillatory arm on said base upon which at least one of said attaching members is carried to support the base in preselected relation with the supporting shelf.

6. A tray for an automobileinstrument panel, including a base member, an upstanding flange on all but one side thereof, means for attaching said base member to the automobile including an oscillatory arm, one end of which is removably engageable with the automobile instrument panel, and additional supporting members on said base adjacent the open side thereof, the oscillatory arm and supporting members being removably engageable with the automobile in various positions of adjustment relative thereto.

7. A tray for an automobile of the type having a windshield assembly offset relative to the instrument panel affording a supporting shelf thereabove, including a base member, an upstanding marginal flange secured to a portion on said base member, projections on said base member opposite the upstanding flange, said projections affording means for detachably engaging said base member with the windshield assembly, and an arm suspended from said base member adjacent the upstanding flange and capable of relative swinging motion for selective rest engagement with the supporting shelf.

8. A tray for an automobile of the type having a windshield offset relative to the instrument panel affording a supporting shelf thereabove, including a base member, an upstanding marginal flange on a portion thereof, attachment means suspended from the base member adjacent the edge thereof opposite said marginal flange, and a foot member suspended from said base member adjacent said marginal flange to rest on the supporting shelf.

GEORGE E. PETERS. LINUS E. RUSSELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 580,199 Sommerfield Apr. 6, 1897 598,116 Rose et al. Feb. 1, 1898 797,451 McBryde Au 15, 1905 1,074,173 Hines Sept. 30, 1913 1,106,282 Coats Aug. 4, 1914 1,309,965 Schwab July 15, 1919 1,360,180 Congdon Nov. 23, 1920 1,487,574 Jordan Mar. 18, 1924 1,493,036 Hay May 6, 1924 1,571,000 Eustis Jan. 26, 1926 1,723,238 Hoot Aug. 6, 1929 1,788,800 McGinley Jan. 13, 1931 1,964,339 Brassell June 26, 1934 2,372,381 Kramer Mar. 27, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 354,071 Great Britain Aug. 6. 1931 434,898 Great Britain -01.... Sept. 11, 1938 

